A season full of high expectations that started off promising has taken an unexpected turn for the worse.
After a 2-0 start, the UCF football team has lost five of its last seven games and turned an expected third Conference-USA championship into a season where the Knights are simply fighting for bowl eligibility.
The Knights (4-5, 2-3 C-USA) opportunity to win a second consecutive league crown was vanquished Thursday night at the hands of Tulsa, who used a late go-ahead touchdown to beat UCF 24-17 at Bright House Networks Stadium and effectively eliminate the Knights from competing in the C-USA championship game.
G.J. Kinne hooked up with Clay Sears on a 16-yard touchdown with nine minutes left in regulation that gave the Golden Hurricanes (6-3, 5-o C-USA) the lead and ultimately the game-winning score to hand the Knights their first home loss of the season.
Now, the Knights find themselves in unfamiliar territory, with already two more losses than they had all of last season, and needing to win two out of their final three games just to be bowl eligible.
“I never thought I’d be in this position,” sophomore quarterback Jeff Godfrey said.
“We came out strong, and when we lost that first game on the road, I feel like we just thought our season was down the drain. I tell the guys everyday, keep pushing because our season isnt over yet; we just got to keep playing.”
Godfrey became the first true freshman quarterback in college football history to lead his team to a conference championship last season.
Now, Godfrey and the Knights are searching for answers as the disappointment continues to build after each loss.
“Absolutely not, we didn’t think we’d be in this position right now,” runningback Ronnie Weaver said. “We understand these are going to be some tough games ahead of us. We have to prepare like we never prepared before and get those two wins, not only to be bowl eligible, but to gain some momentum.”
The Knights lack of execution in the red zone continues to haunt them. It was a major factor against the Golden Hurricanes Thursday night.
Down a touchdown with a little over five minutes left in the game, Godfrey drove the Knights down the field and into the Tulsa red zone. UCF was at the Golden Hurricane four-yard line with a first and goal.
However, the Knights failed to execute, turning the ball over on downs, and ultimately ending any comeback bid.
“I think we just got to get down there (end zone) and make plays,” Godfrey said. “It’s something we got to improve on. We just got to go out there and pound in a touchdown, and not settle for a field goal.”
In addition to the red zone struggles, the UCF defense didn’t give its usually stout performance at home. Coming into the game, the Knights defense led the country with just nine points allowed at home and hadn’t given up a single touchdown on their home field.
The Tulsa offense, which ranks third in C-USA in scoring, ended that in the first quarter on a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Willie Carter.
The UCF rush defense, which was ranked fifth in the nation, gave up 251 yards. Prior to Thursday’s game, the most rushing yards the Knights allowed at home was 57 by Boston College in Week 2.
“We didn’t play very well, rush defense wise. There were too many runs that should’ve been stopped at the point of attack and I don’t think the tackling was very crisp,” head coach George O’Leary said. “As they ran the ball, it opened up the passing game and we didn’t do a good job stopping them.”
UCF was outgained 454 to 381 in total yards, and the Knights defense allowed 27 first downs in the game.
The Knights also suffered from 64 yards of costly penalties, which hurt them throughout the game.
“We had six penalties for 60 yards and they had none. Some of them occurred in crucial times, a holding call and pass interference. Those are things you have to overcome as an offense and those are things that get you beat, along with missed tackles and missed opportunities,” O’Leary said.
Despite the penalties and shaky defense, the Knights had opportunites to win the game. Once again, it came down to lack of execution on big plays, and the fact that Tulsa responded to every punch that UCF threw.
The Knights led at three separate times in the game, but failed to pull away from the Golden Hurricanes, who have now won five straight games.
Godfrey guided the Knights with 226 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-23 passing, to go along with 46 rushing yards. Freshman J.J. Worton had a solid game, posting 87 yards and a touchdown catch.
Kinne had an all-purpose game for the Golden Hurricanes, amassing 295 total yards, including 203 yards and a TD in the air, and 92 yards on the ground.
Now, the Knights are forced to rebound after a tough loss as they head to Hattiesburg next week to face a tough Southern Miss team on the road.
Although UCF can no longer repeat as C-USA champs, the team can still make a bowl game and finish with a winning record.
“We just got to keep pushing; we stress that everyday. We wanted to win out, but unfortunately Tulsa stopped us from our goal,” Godfrey said. “We just got to keep pushing- the season isn’t over with yet.”
The Knights can still salvage what’s left of their season with a win at Southern Miss next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
“We’ve been faced with adversity all season long, and we’ve bounced back together as a team, as a band of brothers,” Weaver said.
